Up and down the country, excited shoppers got the tills ringing and plundered the aisles with feverish enthusiasm.

In London's West End, people queued overnight on Oxford Street in preparation for the stores opening.

As the doors of Selfridges were opened thousands poured in and charged towards the items they had targeted.

Oxford Street, London's retail mecca, will see several hundred thousand customers pass through it today.

It was bustling this morning with shoppers from across the country and thousands of tourists, many from China.

One man said the prices in the United Kingdom offered better value for money than in China and fighting for bargains in Oxford Street was an experience.

Scenes of shopping mayhem in London were replicated across the country.

Bargain hunters: Shoppers outside Harrods in London (Photo: Getty)

Sales shoppers: Bargain huntes in Selfridges (Photo: NTI/SWNS)

Mad dash: Shoppers pour into Selfridges (Photo: NTI/SWNS)

At Birmingham's Bullring Shopping Centre, thousands were ready and waiting from 12.20am for the off.

Popular picks were the Next Boxing Day Sale, and the promise of knock-down prices at both Debenhams and Selfridges department stores.

Tim Walley, Bullring general manager, said: "Today we expect over 200,000 customers to flock to Bullring all eager to pick up some bargains. Three of the centre's biggest retailers, Selfridges, Debenhams and Next have all launched their iconic sales today.

"Many of the centre's retailers are now offering huge discounts including up to 50% off at A|X Armani Exchange and Reiss.

"Big discounts are also available at Debenhams with 50% off selected products across a number of ranges including menswear, womenswear, homeware and beauty."

Early starters: This was the queue outside Birmingham's Bullring shopping centre at 12.20am (Photo: NTI/SWNS)

Keeping warm: Shoppers wrapped up as they waited in the cold (Photo: NTI/SWNS)

Long wait: Shoppers faced long queues to get into the Bullring (Photo: NTI/SWNS)

Snaking queue: And once inside - there were still hundreds of eager shoppers waiting to hit the sales (Photo: NTI/SWNS)

Big discounts: Handbags were among the items shoppers were keenest on (Photo: NTI/SWNS)

The discounts on offer at Debenhams ranged from a Jamie Oliver 4-Piece Stainless Steel Cookware Set with £70 off, reduced to £100, to the remote-controlled Heli 3d Twister which is half price at £20.

Mr Walley said the centre was expecting a further 150,000 shoppers tomorrow.

It was a similar story at Leicester's Highcross Shopping Centre, with shoppers queuing from 1.30am.

More than 90,000 shoppers are expected through the centre's doors, today, and more again tomorrow when John Lewis starts its post-Christmas sales.

Jo Tallack, general manager, said: "We welcomed more than 1.5 million shoppers to Highcross in the run up to Christmas and expect them to continue coming through the doors for post-Christmas bargains between now and the near year.

"We expect to see more than 90,000 shoppers today and another busy day tomorrow when our flagship retailer, John Lewis, opens for its annual clearance event."

Highlights of Highcross's sales include up to 50% off selected watches at Francis & Gaye and a Hugo Boss three-piece Hugh Genius suit down to £262.46.

In December, sales at the centre increased 3% on the year, with an estimated two million shoppers through its doors for this month alone.

In Bristol, hundreds of people queued from the early hours of this morning to be among the first through the doors of Cabot Circus' Next store.

Centre director Kevin Duffy said a long line of eager bargain hunters greeted Next staff as the clothing chain opened at 6am in Bristol for the start of its famous Boxing Day sale.

He said: "There were a couple of hundred people waiting at 6am, and three hours later the queues are still there waiting their turn to get in.

"Several other stores within the shopping centre opened at 8am, and there were lots of people queuing there, too."

Mr Duffy said around 180,000 people are expected to visit Cabot Circus today and tomorrow, with an estimated 100,000 of those waiting the extra day to pick up deals.

He said: "I think some people are still coming back from holidays or time spent visiting family today, so we are expecting slightly more people through the doors tomorrow.

"That seems to be the way things happen now, people are happy to wait until December 27."

Retailers slashed prices and began their early morning trading in a bid to entice shoppers in and compete with online rivals who have already begun offering heavy discounts.

The British Retail Consortium had described high-street spending as "acceptable but not exceptional" this festive period.

Sue West, Selfridges director of operations, said handbags and menswear were flying off the shelves at their flagship West End store.

She said: "Of the people queuing to get inside 60% or 70% were men. It's a great day for men's shopping. It's a tradition and people want to experience it.

"Online sales for us have been great but year on year people still want to experience the Boxing Day sales."

Kent's Bluewater shopping centre will see 120,000 visitors through its doors today.

Queues began to form at 1am today with more than 3,000 waiting at 7am.

Robert Goodman, Bluewater's general manager, said: "This is certainly one of the busiest starts ever at Bluewater for the Boxing Day sales.

"The key thing people will come to Bluewater for today is the sales, where Next has led the way, opening its doors at 6am.

"Traditionally, the majority of visitors on Boxing Day are families, who visit to treat themselves and make a day of it, enjoying Bluewater's breadth of restaurants and cafes as well as our Winter Wonderland and cinema."

He added that 900,000 visitors were expected to visit between today and New Year's Eve."

In Cardiff, the city's St David's shopping centre said it was expecting 150,000 customers on top of what has already been a record-breaking few days in the Welsh capital.

"Over 1.3 million shoppers visited St David's during the week leading up to Christmas, spending up to £2.5 million a day. We've also welcomed more visitors than ever before to the car park.

"Over 150,000 shoppers are expected to descend on St David's today as the traditional Boxing Day sales start. Welsh shoppers were out in force this morning determined to bag the best Boxing Day bargains, with retailers reducing stock by as much as 50%.

"Our department stores are expected to perform well, alongside the recently opened Hamleys and stores like Vivienne Westwood, as shoppers make a beeline for those designer names and luxury goods."

Manchester's Trafford Centre has enjoyed what is thought to be the biggest Boxing Day sale in its history with police drafted in to help manage the crowds.

Twenty-thousand shoppers had arrived by 8am, said Gordon McKinnon, director of operations.

He said: "Dramatic price cuts across a range of sectors have proven very attractive to our customers, huge reductions have been reported in electrical goods, men's and ladies' fashions, toys and footwear.

"Many people appear to be buying in bulk, and the shops are reportedly working hard to keep the shelves fully stocked.

"Many of our shoppers received a Trafford Centre gift card - we saw record sales on gift cards this year - and they are always keen to spend those in the sales after Christmas. Many bargains were snapped up within minutes of opening, with great trade particularly on party fashions and accessories.

"Stores are keen to clear their autumn stock to allow them to get into their spring displays as quickly as possible. Many retailers have kept stock levels much tighter this year, so the sales will not be stretching on into January.

"Our advice to customers would be that if they want to grab the bargains they need to get into the stores sooner rather than later."